Staff Reporter :
Allegations found that Indian nationals have dominated discriminatory hiring practices at the country’s leading mobile operator, Grameenphone (GP).
Sources said, the company has reportedly laid off around 3,360 permanent Bangladeshi employees over the past 13 years, while consistently appointing Indian nationals to key positions.
This has raised concerns about potential data leakage, money laundering, commission trading, and service quality.
According to sources, five key leadership positions at Grameenphone are currently held by Indian nationals.
They include: Chief Technology Officer (CTO): Joy Prakash, Chief Information Officer (CIO): Niranjan Srinivasan, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO): Bhangu Kaustubh, Head of Sourcing: Kustav, Head of Engineering: Srivab.
Sources alleged that these officials control much of the company’s technology and information systems.
Laid-off employees state that their responsibilities have been outsourced
to two India-owned companies-Genex and Withpro.
There are also allegations that even when qualified candidates from other countries apply, Indian nationals are given priority in recruitment.
Many employees claim they faced retaliation-and even lost their jobs-for raising questions about this.
Former employees claim that Grameenphone has yet to settle a significant portion of the dues owed to those who were dismissed on various pretexts.
They also allege that police attacked them during protests demanding their dues. One former employee said, “Many of those who were terminated over the past 13 years are living in inhumane conditions. In despair, a worker named Rajib even died this past April.”
On 31 May 2020, Grameenphone declared a “lockout” of 180 permanent employees. On 31 December that year, the Grameenphone Employees Union (GPEU) filed an industrial dispute demanding reinstatement.
The company rejected the objection, citing the existence of multiple unions within the organization.
The dispute was later raised at the arbitration wing of the Department of Labour on 20 January 2021, where the union argued that Grameenphone had violated labour laws by keeping 180 workers away from their duties.
On 8 February 2021, the labour department dismissed the dispute.
This prompted the union to file a writ petition with the High Court challenging the dismissal. Subsequently, on the night of 20 June 2021, 159 permanent employees were terminated.
Workers allege that Indian officials have dominated Grameenphone for more than a decade.
Several key posts have been held by Indian nationals: Vivek Sood served as CEO from 2013 to 2015, Rizwi Shetty served as CEO from 2015 to 2019, Sourav Prakash served as Head of Product in 2018, Dilip Kumar served as CEO, Yogesh served as CTO, Hitesh Sood served as Head of Service from 2022 to 2024, Sharabajit Singh served as Head of Collection and Ravindra Shikhar served as General Manager.
Abu Sadat Md. Shoaib, one of the coordinators of the movement for dues, said, “We have been protesting for a long time.
We have even faced attacks. If our dues are not paid immediately, we will announce tougher programmes.”
Meanwhile, Grameenphone’s Head of External Communication, Ankit Sureka, rejected the allegations saying, “Grameenphone conducts its business in full compliance with all laws and regulations of the country.”
He said, “We can firmly say that the claims made against Grameenphone are incorrect. Some former employees have been circulating these allegations for months regarding various job-related demands.
To our knowledge, most of them left the company years ago and received their entitlements as per the law.”
He added that the allegations are currently sub-judice, and Grameenphone respects the judicial process. “We believe these matters will be resolved through legal proceedings.”
Responding to claims of preferential hiring of Indian nationals, he said: “As a multinational organization, Grameenphone adheres to global standards and governance practices, and hires employees through a structured, multi-level recruitment process.”
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